There is never a bad moment for a good performance but Schalke's 4-1 win over Hamburg on Sunday afternoon was almost miraculously well-timed. The whole week, public discourse in Fußball-Deutschland had been dominated by heartfelt worries about a) a Bayern-Dortmund duopoly in the league or b) Bayern gobbling up all the competition, Uruguayan-steak-tartare-with-Serbian-salt-crust-style.

Only one club resisted these two narratives, with admirable defiance. Schalke 04 officials might have had a tough time making themselves heard amid the deafening noise about the "power-shift", the Götze-Lewandowski transfer saga and the "Adios, Amigos!" (German Sky second leg promo video) nonsense but their message was quiet and clear: "Don't forget about us, please. We said: don't forget about us. Hello? Anybody out there?"

"I understand that Dortmund feel as if they're No2 in the league at the moment, but they have to prove that they can sustain that," said Schalke chairman Clemens Tönnies before the Hamburg game. "Schalke is of course on the same level with BVB. We will inevitably consolidate our position among the top three in Germany if we continue to put into place our strategy of consolidation and strengthening of the sporting situation". That'll teach them.

A little more convincing was the Royal Blues' performance on the pitch. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, back from a seven-week spell on the sidelines, was in unplayable form, holding up balls like a Covent Garden juggler, playing in team-mates, scoring a hat-trick. "He was always present in the box, if he continues like that, he's one of the top strikers in Europe," said sporting director Horst Heldt. Brazilian winger Michel Bastos scored the other goal for Schalke, who played with a defensive coherence and attacking fluidity rarely seen since the winter break.

It would be a dereliction of duty to neglect the fact that Hamburger SV were the (supposed) opposition, however. Thorsten Fink's team went into the game as genuine Champions League contenders – proof, if any was indeed needed, that German domination in Europe is not really on the cards. Fortunately for the Bundesliga's Uefa coefficient, Sunday's defeat should avoid the doomsday scenario of their participation in next year's competition. "It's hard to talk about Europe after such a game," said Fink.

Hamburg had actually taken the lead early on, when Marcell Jansen outjumped Roman Neustädter and placed his header into the corner. But it didn't take long before Fink's special brand of tactical expertise began to show. Against Schalke, who predominantly attack on the wings, the 45-year-old interestingly chose to play with full-backs who were stationed high up the pitch in possession. Dennis Aogo was tasked with the Busquets role (don't laugh) of dropping deep in front of the centre-backs but Fink hadn't factored in that his workman like midfield were never able to keep the ball long enough to make such a risky set-up work. Instead, the ball bounced back quickly, and Bastos, Raffael and Julian Draxler had 30 metres of green space to run into.

One was left wondering how a side that featured ex-Chelsea youth player Jacopo Sala – cruelly out of position and even more cruelly out of his depth – and Michael Mancienne at centre-back have made it to mid-table safety this season in the first place. Maybe Fink's "you have to eat grass" rhetoric does hide a strategic super-brain after all.

As for Schalke, their performance makes a welcome change from a couple of weeks of mysteriously anaemic displays. Interim coach Jens Keller's chances to keep the job beyond the summer haven't been enhanced by these no-shows, but Bild news of Stefan "Tiger" Effenberg being a prime candidate for next season have come as a shock. Heldt didn't deny meeting with the 44-year-old and called him a "manager for the future". "It's my aim to work as a manager, but no decision has been made yet," the former Bayern midfielder replied via Sky.

One the one hand, he looks like a curious choice. "Effe" is a "Bayern man" in the eyes of the public, his distanced, cool manner doesn't look like the best fit for passionate Gelsenkirchen. Previous talks with Eintracht Frankfurt coach Armin Veh also suggested that S04 were looking for an experienced, fatherly type, not a novice. But then again maybe Heldt now feels that Schalke need exactly someone like Effenberg, a proven winner (as a player), a man who won't settle for second-place and might just drive on the club to a first championship in 56 years.

Either way, it's vitally important to get this appointment right if the Royal Blues want to challenge either Bayern's or Dortmund's position in the food chain. The squad itself looks pretty strong already, and the Champions League should bring resources for one or two useful additions to decrease the reliance on Huntelaar up front. Extending the Dutchman's contract until 2015 in the winter break was a coup that should not be underestimated.

In Draxler, 19, they also have a player of sublime talent in their ranks: strong and elegant like the young Michael Ballack, but blessed with more pace and closer control. The Germany international was seen as natural replacement for Mario Götze by some, but the rivalry in the Ruhr area makes this a non-starter – for the moment. "I can promise that I won't play for Dortmund in the next years, unless they brainwash me first," he said on the S04 home page.

This being Schalke, a calamitous end to the season can never quite be ruled out and the managerial question offers plenty of scope for underachievement beyond that too.

But a lack of real competition at the very top – Leverkusen are too pleased to be there, while everyone else is either useless (Stuttgart, Bremen, Wolfsburg, Hamburg) or only there by the grace of one extraordinarily good campaign (Freiburg, Frankfurt, Mainz) – puts Tönnies' club in a strong strategic position. For their sake and the league's, they must take it.